Don't know any good hikes in the Blue Mountains, but the Budawangs, around a hundred km down the coast from Sydney, are fantastic hiking. We only went on one seriously long hike there (and that was just a three-day backpacking trip), but the terrain and vegetation and animals were superb. We did some field work there on some back roads, too. Really a cool area. They're "rain forest" by southeastern Australian standards, and they're neat. If they're in range for your Sydney trip, definitely find out what you can about them. I can give you the e-mail of a friend of ours at ANU who has done extensive hiking there, if you want.

Cori...Just beautiful pictures! Thank you so much for sharing them..I have been ejoying seeing the different landscapes...flora & of course the wildlife. How fortunate you both are to see and experience such a different part of the world